Page 5 of Careless

I'd be the enemy of Grove Hill High if anyone knew about that. We were only together once, one year ago and I still get random Facebook messages from him, trying to see if I want to hook up again.

I can't say for sure if Jason was good in bed or maybe mediocre, but when you’ve only been with one person, it’s hard to judge. It was painful, but I had something to prove to myself. I needed to be able to say that my feelings for Rian didn't completely ruin me for anyone else.

I liked Jason. He's funny, charismatic, and... safe. However, anyone compared to Rian issafe. If Jason has a body count, it’s in regards to the amount of girls he’s slept with, not with the amount of people he has killed.

I don’t know much about Jason Woods but I know he’s smart, kind and respectful. I’m fairly certain that he would want a relationship with me that goes beyond sex. He seems like a great guy. Unfortunately I don’t have romantic feelings for him.

“Really? Let him look,” I respond after a long pause.

It's not like Rian Walsh is watching me because he finds me attractive.

And that knowledge always breaks my heart, so I have stopped being a hopeless romantic when it comes to Rian Walsh.

CHAPTERTWO

HIM

“Man, come on. Chelsea Downs is throwing one of her wild parties this Saturday. I can't go without you.”

Tiernan expects me to be his wingman when it comes to chasing pussy. I'm sure Eoghan or Finn would be way better, but for some reason, Tiernan favors my company over the others.

Too bad he’s on the phone and can’t see the classic eye roll playing on my face. My shoulder holds my phone to my ear as I tap my fingers on the steering wheel of my Charger.

“Ask me again on Saturday. I might be in a partying mood then,” I grumble as my eyes stay focused on the forest green door of the O'Reilly home, waiting to see if she emerges.

Of course she will. Sorcha never takes a day off from her workout routine, not even when she's sick or on her period.

And, yes, I pay such close attention that I know when that is. I get this information not by merely watching her pull a tampon from her bag before going into the bathroom. No. I pay attention to the subtle inclinations. The discomfort, her pulling that bottle of Advil out of her bag every four hours, and how she closes her eyes and rubs her stomach when a cramp comes on. Regardless of her cycle, she is truly dedicated to her workouts and her resilience is something to admire.

“Please tell me you're not looking at that green door, Ri,” Tiernan groans through the phone.

He's not an idiot. He knows exactly what I'm doing. Luckily, he’s the only one.

He laughs. “You're obsessive as fuck, man.” I don’t fight him on it because he’s not wrong.

The wordobsessionseems too trivial to describe how I feel toward Sorcha. I am beyond obsessed with Sorcha—have been for years. I can't remember exactly when the unscratchable itch crept in on me but even when I try my hardest to ignore it, I can’t. She’s always there in the back of my mind, lurking in my thoughts. The closest I come to eliminating that irritating tickle is by watching her.

She’s like a physical form of poetry, her laughter brings people more joy than a blunt brings a pothead. Her eyes get so bright when she smiles that I have seen people stop in their tracks just to marvel at how beautiful it makes her. Her innocence in this fuck-up world captivates me.

“You know, when Finn finds out about this, he'll kick your ass,” Tiernan states the obvious.

The front door opens and I perk up, dislodging my cell and nearly dropping it on my junk. Sorcha strolls out of the house, her charcoal gray tank top clings to her full breasts and the curves of her stomach. Her spandex shorts leave very little to the imagination when it comes to covering her ass. I don’t know if I should make her change them so others can’t perv on her, or just sit back and perv on her myself. She might as well have walked out of the house naked with how much she’s revealing. However, she could wear a potato sack and my dick would still be hard.

“Then, keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to attend my funeral,” I say as Sorcha jumps off the steps and takes off running down the street.

I'd like to say safeguarding her is because she’s my best friend's sister, but that'd be a lie. I'm ridiculously protective of her—even by my own standards. I follow her just about everywhere she goes, the spectacular view of her body is just an added bonus. The element of forbiddenness makes it even hotter. It's a game of cat and mouse, and hopefully, much like the cat, I get to put my mouth on my prey.

“Why the fuck are you doing it? This has been going on for so fucking long, Ri. If you want to fuck her, do it already. I didn’t peg you for being a scared bitch.” he taunts.

He knows I hate being called a bitch, but I'm not going to fall into his trap.

“First of all, you're never gonna peg me. Second, who said I want to fuck her? I don't find her attractive,” I lie.

Just because I want to pin her down and fuck her until I can't feel my legs doesn’t necessarily mean I think she’s pretty. Shit, I can’t even lie to myself. Sorcha is sexy as hell. The weird part is she has no idea how much of a temptation she is. I guess a bit of that is my fault. I'm the one who black-listed her to all guys in Grove Hill.

The first time I caught someone giving herthatlook, I almost catapulted across the cafeteria tables to slam Chase Bradford’s face against the cinder block walls. I wanted to kill him. He learned real fucking quick not to even look at her. I think the asshole’s nose still has a slight bend in it from when I beat his ass after school and ordered him to spread the word.

Sorcha O’Reilly is off-limits.

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